The Business Intelligence workload has significantly improved in SharePoint 2013. But to many administrators, it seems to be a confusing array of choices with a lack of clear guidance with how best to provision, configure, secure, and troubleshoot. This IT Pro-centered talk will focus on these four management challenges. In addition, we’ll also look at the layered BI architecture and partition out what functions SharePoint has versus SQL Server. If you are expected to support the underlying BI platform provided by Excel Services, PowerPivot, or Power View, you don’t want to miss this. Note: This slide share is designed for on-premises or IaaS SharePoint deployments.

1. S H A R E - T H E - P O I N T
CONFERENCES
2014
Randy Williams
Yammer.com/
stpevents

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Author Director of ACS

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Provision, Configure, Secure and Troubleshoot…
Excel
Services
Power
Pivot
Power
View

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 SharePoint Server 2013 Enterprise
 SQL 2012 SP1 or SQL 2014 Enterprise
 Used for PowerPivot & Power View
 You can use older SQL versions for config, content, service app
databases
 Note: This session covers on-premises capabilities, not what
you’ll find in Power BI in Office 365

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$server = "APP1"
$identity = "contososp.excel"
$appName = "Excel Services Application"
$appPoolName = "Excel Services App Pool"
$cred = Get-Credential $identity
$appPoolAccount = New-SPManagedAccount -Credential $cred
$url = "https://teams.contoso.com"
$identity = "contososp.excel"
$appName = "Excel Services Application"
$appPool = New-SPServiceApplicationPool -Name $appPoolName -Account $identity
New-SPExcelServiceApplication -name $appName –ApplicationPool $appPoolName -default
Get-SPServiceInstance | where {$_.typename -eq "Excel Calculation Services" -and $_.Parent -like "*$server"} | `
Start-SPServiceInstance
Get-SPExcelServiceApplication -identity $appName | New-SPExcelFileLocation -address "https://" -includeChildren
$webApp = Get-SPWebApplication $url
$webApp.GrantAccessToProcessIdentity($identity)
New-SPWOPISuppressionSetting -Extension "XLSX" -Action "view"
New-SPWOPISuppressionSetting -Extension "XLS" -Action "view"

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 If you use a unique app pool, make sure you run
GrantAccessToProcessIdentity() on web app
 If you use Office Web Apps, run New-SPWOPISuppressionSetting to
have ECS render
 Add/edit default file location when using SSL
When troubleshooting, always double check your settings—if that fails,
then review ULS logs!

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Understanding the data refresh problem

10.  Can ECS connect to the original data source to refresh worksheet data?
#seaspc
 Windows auth is the best
choice, but when using NTLM
you have delegation
(double-hop) problems

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 Use Secure Store Service and store
credentials to server within an SSS
target application
 Use one unattended service account
or multiple target application IDs
 Use Kerberos (KCD)
 Use a standard (non-integrated) username
& password
 Store .ODC (office data connections) within trusted libraries and only
allow trusted connected libraries

12. Try to delegate with
logged on user’s
credentials
Use specific App ID from
Secure Store Service
Use unattended service
account in Excel Services
global settings
#seaspc

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Configuring Excel Services Data Refresh

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PowerPivot is available in
 Excel 2013 client application
 PowerPivot is a preinstalled add in. Just enable it
 Analysis Services in SharePoint mode
 This is the server component provided by SQL Server
 Excel Services calls into it when needed

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Excel Services
is the hub for
all PowerPivot
features!

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 xVelocity engine used by Excel Services
 Run on one or more SQL Servers (2012 SP1 or 2014)
 Used when Excel workbooks with embedded data models are
run in Excel Services
 Embedded data model from Excel workbook is loaded and processed
here
 This can run alongside relational SQL instances, but for heavy
analysis it should run on dedicated server(s)

18.  Install from SQL Server media
 Installs as PowerPivot instance
name
 Grant Excel Services,
PowerPivot, SSRS, and Farm
accounts admin permissions
#seaspc

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 PowerPivot instance runs on a dynamic TCP port by default
 Edit C:Program FilesMicrosoft SQL Server
MSAS11.POWERPIVOTOLAPConfigmsmdsrv.ini and change to a
change to a fixed port
 Add this fixed port and SQL Browser (TCP 2382, UDP 1434) to allowed
firewall list
 Test by using SQL Management Studio from a remote server

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 Add <servername>powerpivot to Excel Services Data Model
settings
 Name is not case sensitive

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 spPowerPivot.msi
 Contains the latest drivers, plus
 PowerPivot System Service handles scheduled data refresh
 Management dashboard in Central Admin
 PowerPivot Gallery (useful with Power View)
 PowerPivot Configuration Tool simplifies the provisioning effort
 Recommended to install on all SharePoint servers
 Download from bit.ly/1upf49J (SQL 2012 SP1) or
bit.ly/1qcamtj (SQL 2014)

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Provisions additional PowerPivot capabilities
 Scheduled data refresh allows users to configure when
their workbooks are refreshed automatically. See
bit.ly/1iPVkZg
 PowerPivot Management dashboard
 PowerPivot Gallery (library template)
Not required for basic PowerPivot features

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 Create a separate account for PowerPivot service and configure as
default account (top page)
 Modify “Create PowerPivot Service Application” to remove database
GUID
 Application pool assigned for PowerPivot service is not configurable
 Doesn’t grant permissions properly for PowerPivot management
dashboard

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#Reassign app pool
$identity = "contososp.powerpivot"
$appName = "PowerPivot Service Application"
$appPoolName = "PowerPivot Service App Pool"
$cred = Get-Credential $identity
$appPoolAccount = New-SPManagedAccount -Credential $cred
$appPool = New-SPServiceApplicationPool -Name $appPoolName -Account $appPoolAccount
$serviceApp = Get-SPServiceApplication | where {$_.DisplayName -eq $appName}
$serviceApp.ApplicationPool = $appPool
$serviceApp.Update()
#Grant app pool permissions to web applications (add other web apps if needed)
$webApp = Get-SPWebApplication https://teams.contoso.com
$webApp.GrantAccessToProcessIdentity("contososp.powerpivot")
#Grant Excel identity permissions to central admin content database
$identity = "contososp.excel"
$centralAdminUrl = "https://contoso-wfe:2013/"
$webApp = Get-SPWebApplication –IncludeCentralAdministration | where {$_.Url –eq "$centralAdminUrl"}
$webApp.GrantAccessToProcessIdentity($identity)

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Level Features Install or Configure
Client only • Interactive PowerPivot
capabilities within Excel
• Create data models
• Excel 2013
• SharePoint is not required
PowerPivot
Server support
• Interactive PowerPivot
workbooks in the browser
(slice, refresh)
• Excel Services unattended service
account
• Analysis Services in SharePoint Mode
• Register server in Excel Services
All PowerPivot
features
• Access to workbooks as a data
source from outside the farm
• Schedule Data refresh
• PowerPivot Gallery
• Management Dashboard
• Deploy PowerPivot for SharePoint
2013 Add-in
• Run Configuration Tool

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Configuring Analysis Services in SharePoint mode

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 You must have SQL
Server Reporting
Services (SSRS)
installed into the
SharePoint farm
in integrated mode
 Also requires Analysis
Services in SharePoint
mode

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 Install SQL Server Reporting Services in SharePoint mode (SQL
2012 SP1 or SQL 2014)
 Install SSRS in Integrated Mode on one or more SharePoint
servers
 Install rsSharePoint.msi on all WFE SharePoint servers (found
on SQL disc)

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Install-SPRSService
Install-SPRSServiceProxy
$identity = "contososp.ssrs"
$appName = "SQL Server Reporting Services Service Application"
$appPoolName = "SSRS App Pool"
$databaseName = "ReportingServices“
$cred = Get-Credential $identity
$appPoolAccount = New-SPManagedAccount -Credential $cred
$appPool = New-SPServiceApplicationPool -Name $appPoolName -Account $appPoolAccount
$app = New-SPRSServiceApplication -name $appName –ApplicationPool $appPoolName `
-DatabaseName $databaseName
$proxy = New-SPRSServiceApplicationProxy $appName -ServiceApplication $app
Get-SPServiceApplicationProxyGroup | where {$_.FriendlyName -eq "[default]"} | `
Add-SPServiceApplicationProxyGroupMember -Member $proxy
$url = "https://teams.contoso.com"
$webApp = Get-SPWebApplication $url
$webApp.GrantAccessToProcessIdentity($identity)

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 Once SSRS is installed and provisioned as described, Power
View functionality is ready to go!
 Just enable these site collection features:
 Power View Integration Feature
 PowerPivot Feature Integration for Site Collections
 Power View reports can be created from Excel workbooks
stored in a PowerPivot Gallery

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Testing PowerView

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Provision, Configure, Secure and Troubleshoot…
Excel
Services
Power
Pivot
Power
View

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For more
information,
see chapter 17

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Valued Supporters